Lando Norris has set his sights on his maiden Formula 1 race win at the Dutch Grand Prix but accepts it will be difficult to beat runaway F1 championship leader Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver claimed pole position for his home race by over half a second at Zandvoort with Norris forced to play second fiddle. McLaren has enjoyed a significant turnaround in form since the Austrian Grand Prix, with two podiums in Norris' name exorcising demons from a difficult start to the season. On his chances against Verstappen, who enjoys a 125-point lead over teammate Sergio Perez as he aims for a record-equalling ninth race victory, Norris told media including RacingNews365.com : “I’ll challenge him for probably two laps and then he'll drive away. “I think there's quite a bit of tyre degradation here and not our forté when it comes into play, we start to struggle quite a bit in certain corners. “But we've improved the car quite a bit I think since Friday, so I want to be a little bit more hopeful. “I’m not gonna say no, I’m gonna give it a try but Max is always on another level when it comes to Sundays and [there’s] tyre degradation and race pace. “So there's opportunities but it's gonna be tough.”
Norris: McLaren didn't need Zandvoort reassurance
McLaren now appears to be a consistent podium contender with its qualifying performance at Zandvoort once again showcasing its recent growth. “We were pretty reassured already after Silverstone that things were looking a lot better," explained Norris, who took on a major upgrade package at the Austrian Grand Prix. "Even after Austria, we were confident things took a big step forward, and they did. “We went on to score two podiums, had a tricky Spa, but still a P7 and we come to a track which we know suits us a bit more and we proved it again [in qualifying]. “So the team has done an excellent job. I've said countless times, but they've really made a massive step forward from where we were to where we are now and days like this, when you reward them is always a good thing."
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